Active and Passive Voice Rules for All Tenses [PDF Available]

Active and Passive Voice Rules: It is inevitable to avoid voices while using English Grammar for anyone, even in the slightest bit. So are the chances of encountering Active and Passive Voice rules to build effective communications. After all, they serve as a backbone of the English language, alongside tenses and reported speech, regarding both usage and trickiness.

But not anymore, if you have a grasp on tenses then half of the battle is won. For the rest,  you should read this blog article till the very end, and learn how to apply active and passive voice rules in your sentence structure with the help of examples and exercises you will find hereafter. 

Must Read: Active and Passive Voice: Rules, Examples & Exercise

What is the Voice of Verb?

First and foremost, you should learn that both active and passive are a part of the voice of a verb. Whereas, its function is to indicate whether the subject of the verb performs the action or experiences the action. Now, let’s focus on the two types of voice and determine which one justifies the performance of an action, and the one where the subject experiences an action. 

Types of Voice of Verb

As discussed above, there are two types of voice of a verb, that is, active and passive voice. Let’s take a turn at understanding both separately through the table below.

Particulars	Active Voices	Passive Voices
Definition	The subject of sentences performs an action.	The subject of sentences experiences an action.
Example	The dog chased the cat.	The cat was chased by the dog.
Explanation	The subject (“dog”) is performing the action (“chased”).	The subject (“cat”) is experiencing the action (“chased”), and the performer of the action (“dog”) is expressed by the prepositional phrase “by the dog.”

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Active and Passive Voice Rules for Conversion and Examples

Before jumping the gun and cramming all the active and passive voice rules, let’s learn about their conversion rules. While converting an active voice into a passive one, the object comes in the position of the subject and vice versa for converting a passive voice into an active voice.

Rule Structure of Active Voices

Subject + Verb +Object For Example: Rhea wrote a letter

Rule Structure of Passive Voices

Object + Verb (Past Participle) + by SubjectFor Example: A letter was written by Rhea

Active and Passive Voice Rules Chart

Here comes the moment to learn about tricky and important parts of voices, i.e. to understand the active and passive voice rules with the help of the following chart.

Active and Passive Voices Rules for Present Tense

The rules for present active and passive voices are as follows:-

Type of Tenses	Active Voices	Passive Voices
Present Indefinite	Subject + V1+s/es + Object[Do/Does (not) +V1]	Object +Is/am/are +V3 +by Subject
Example	Sanya always pays the dinner bills.	The dinner bills are always paid by Sanya.
Present Continuous	Subject + Is/am/are +V1+ing +Object	Object + Is/am/are + being +V3 + by Subject
Example	Bob is drawing the portrait.	The portrait is being drawn by Bob.
Present Perfect	Subject + Has/have +V3 +Object	Object + Has/have + been + V3 +Object
Example	Has she left the apartment?	Has the apartment been left by her?
Present Perfect Continuous	Subject +Has/have + been + V1+ing + since/for + Object[Since– fixed time,For– approximate time]	No Change

Active and Passive Voices Rules for Past Tense

The rules for past tense active and passive voices are as follows:-

Type of Tenses	Active Voices	Passive Voices
Past Indefinite	Subject + V2 + Object[Did (not) +V1]	Object +was/were +V3 +by Subject
Example	Sanya paid the dinner bills.	The dinner bills were paid by Sanya.
Past Continuous	Subject + was/were +V1+ing +Object	Object + was/were + being +V3 + by Subject
Example	Bob was drawing the portrait.	The portrait was being drawn by Bob.
Past Perfect	Subject + Had +V3 +Object	Object + Had + been + V3 +Object
Example	Had she left the apartment?	Had the apartment been left by her?
Past Perfect Continuous	Subject +Had + been + V1+ing + since/for + Object[Since– fixed time,For– approximate time]	No Change

Active and Passive Voices Rules for Future Tense

Type of Tenses	Active Voices	Passive Voices
Future Indefinite	Subject + Will/Shall + V1 + Object	Object +Will/shall +be +V3 +by Subject
Example	Sanya will pay the dinner bills.	The dinner bills will be paid by Sanya.
Future Perfect	Subject + Will + have +V3 +Object	Object + Will have + been + V3 +Object
Example	She will have left the apartment?	The apartment will have been left by her.
Future Perfect Continuous	Subject +Has/have + been + V1+ing + since/for + Object[Since– fixed time,For– approximate time]	No Change

Active and Passive Voices Rules for Pronouns

Another step in mastering the usage of voices requires you to focus on the changes a pronoun undergoes while transitioning from active to passive voice.

Active Voice Pronuons	Passive Voice Pronouns
I	Me
We	Us
He	His
She	Her
They	Them
You and It	You and It

Practice Exercise Active and Passive Voice

Rewrite each sentence in the passive voice:

1. The team won the championship.
2. The teacher is explaining the assignment.
3. They are conducting the experiment in the laboratory.
4. My sister makes delicious cookies.
5. The gardener planted colorful flowers in the garden.
6. The company is launching a new product next month.
7. The chef is cooking a special dinner tonight.
8. The storm damaged the old building.
9. The committee selected a candidate for the position.
10. People speak Spanish in many countries.
11. The mechanic fixed the broken car.
12. The artist is creating a beautiful sculpture.
13. The children are watching a thrilling movie.
14. The government will announce the new policy tomorrow.
15. The scientist discovered a new species of plant.

Answers

Match your answers with the following sentences in the passive voice.

1. The championship was won by the team.
2. The assignment is being explained by the teacher.
3. The experiment is being conducted in the laboratory.
4. Delicious cookies are made by my sister.
5. Colorful flowers were planted in the garden by the gardener.
6. A new product will be launched by the company next month.
7. A special dinner is being cooked by the chef tonight.
8. The old building was damaged by the storm.
9. A candidate for the position was selected by the committee.
10. Spanish is spoken in many countries by people.
11. The broken car was fixed by the mechanic.
12. A beautiful sculpture is being created by the artist.
13. A thrilling movie is being watched by the children.
14. The new policy will be announced by the government tomorrow.
15. A new species of plant was discovered by the scientist.

Download Active and Passive Voice Rules PDF

In case, you fear that you can forget the rules you have learned so far in this blog, download this Active and Passive Voice Rules PDF, and take your knowledge to a greater height. 

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